The curious thing about this, is it was the case that you needed a warrant - at the state level - to access email. Such was true for two decades (predating the Web). As a state authority, you stood no chance in hell of getting email records turned over to you without a warrant, until the last four or five years.
Email providers became very pliant toward handing over whatever was requested, first with the Feds, then it trickled down. Email providers and ISPs also decided not to specifically fight for strong privacy legislation (insert comment about being the product if you're not paying for email).
The Feds gave up on warrants and got what they wanted through technology mostly, forcing the hands of the telecoms by threat; they simply stopped asking and just took what they wanted. For the Feds it made sense to them to stop using warrants because of the scale involved. It set a strong precedent for violating civil rights that some states are following.
> Email providers became very pliant toward handing over whatever was requested, first with the Feds, then it trickled down.
It helps that the outrage of customers (affected and non-affected) usually does not go as far as to cancel their services with ISPs, given that it is often the only one available.
Email providers became very pliant toward handing over whatever was requested, first with the Feds, then it trickled down. Email providers and ISPs also decided not to specifically fight for strong privacy legislation (insert comment about being the product if you're not paying for email).
The Feds gave up on warrants and got what they wanted through technology mostly, forcing the hands of the telecoms by threat; they simply stopped asking and just took what they wanted. For the Feds it made sense to them to stop using warrants because of the scale involved. It set a strong precedent for violating civil rights that some states are following.